The present invention relates to the processing of E-mail messages over a telecommunications network. More particularly, the present invention relates to the detection and monitoring of file formats which can be processed and displayed at an E-mail client.
E-mail has become a major method of communicating information over telecommunication networks; this includes the xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d and intranets. There are estimates that about 30-55 million American homes are wired for E-mail communication today, and this number is rapidly growing. This provides a large audience for E-mail advertisers. Thus, through E-mail, vendors can make millions of customers aware of their products. One method is to reach the largest audience possible. However, blanket advertising is akin to junk mail and is ineffective in terms of actual sales.
Targeting advertising to customer profiles has been a method to improve E-mail sales. The challenge has been to identify the audience and tailor the advertising to that audience. Vendor lists of prior customers provide a basis to identify the target audience. Once the customer base is determined, the format of the advertisement is another important factor in increasing sales. Certain sections of the population respond favorably to visual media, e.g., graphics over pure text. This xe2x80x9cvisual mediaxe2x80x9d group is several times more likely to respond when they receive visual images, then when they receive only pure text. As this xe2x80x9cvisual mediaxe2x80x9d group represents a significant portion of the E-mail consumers, it is one group to focus on.
Blanket advertising using visual images instead of only text is still ineffective. As the sender, chooses the file format, what the receiver, i.e., user, can process and display may be incompatible. Thus many users, to include members of the xe2x80x9cvisual mediaxe2x80x9d group, may display the visual images as illegible characters. Thus there is a need to insure the user gets the file format that he/she can display.
The present invention describes a method and system for analyzing an E-mail client by an E-mail sensor server. The E-mail client may be, for example, the home personal computer and E-mail client software, Netscape Mail, which a person uses to access his/her E-mail. The E-mail sensor server may be, for example, a merchant""s Windows NT server. One goal is to develop a customer base which receives visual advertisements targeted to their interests and that respond by buying the advertised products. The present invention detects through an E-mail sensor message, the file format that an E-mail client can process and display. Thus, those E-mail clients that can display images can receive compatible visual image advertisements and those that cannot receive text. The invention in addition tracks the responses of the E-mail clients to further refine the xe2x80x9cvisual mediaxe2x80x9d group that responds positively to targeted advertisements with images. Another advantage of the invention is that the invention works with most commercially available E-mail client software, e.g., Qualcomm""s Eudora, Novell""s Groupwise, Microsoft OutLook/Exchange and Netscape""s E-mail client, and hence there is typically no need for users to purchase special software.
Specific embodiments of the method of the present invention include, sending an E-mail message to the E-mail client; determining at the E-mail client a file format that the E-mail client can process and display and indicating to the E-mail sensor server the file format that the E-mail client can process and display. In one specific embodiment, the E-mail sensor server may only determine if a particular file format can be processed and displayed at the E-mail client, and not if it cannot be processed and displayed at the E-mail client. The processing may further determine if hyper text mark up language (HTML) statements or dynamic HTML(DHTML) statements or Java applets can be executed by the E-mail client. Specific embodiments may include the E-mail client executing an HTML image tag having a call to an E-mail server sensor program. The E-mail server sensor program may save information about the E-mail client, such as the E-mail client software type, to an E-mail sensor server database. These embodiments may also include monitoring the status of the E-mail message received at the E-mail client.
These and other embodiments of the present invention, as well as its advantages and features, are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and the attached figures.